49ers Draft Capsule: Wide Receivers

Receiver is a need as Jauan Jennings and Ray-Ray McCloud are both free agents next year.

This wide receiver draft isn’t elite at the top but it’s deep. While the Niners just signed Chris Conley he’s not a lock to make the roster as a 30-year old with just seven catches last year. Virginia receiver Dontayvion Wicks and Michigan State’s Jayden Reed visit the Niners this week.

Receiver is a need as Jauan Jennings and Ray-Ray McCloud are both free agents next year.

Tier 1: Day 1 Starters
Top 20 Jaxson Smith-Njigba (Ohio St) 6-1/196
Top 20 Zay Flowers (Boston College) 5-9/182
Late 1st Quentin Johnston (TCU) 6-3/208
Late 1st Jordan Addison (USC) 5-11/178
Early-to-Mid 2nd Jalin Hyatt (Tennessee) 6-0/184
Mid-to-Late 2nd Cedric Tillman (Tennessee) 6-3/213
Mid-to-Late 2nd Tank Dell (Houston) 5-8/165
Mid-to-Late 2nd Josh Downs (North Carolina) 5-9/171
Late 2nd-Early 3rd Jonathan Mingo (Ole Miss) 6-2/220
Late 2nd-Early 3rd Michael Wilson (Stanford) 6-2/213
Mid-to-Late 3rd Marvin Mims (Oklahoma) 5-11/183
Mid-to-Late 3rd A.T. Perry (Wake Forest) 6-4/198

Receivers with size are climbing. The Niners have met with Mingo, but ESPN now has him going in the 2nd round.

Tier 2: Potential 49er Targets in 3rd and 4th
Early 4th Rashee Rice (SMU) 6-1/205
Early 4th Jayden Reed (Michigan St) 5-11/187
4th Tyler Scott (Cincinnati) 5-10/177
4th Trey Palmer (Nebraska) 6-0/192
4th Parker Washington (Penn State) 5-10/204
4th Andrei Iosivas (Princeton) 6-3/205

The receivers in this group would not merit one of the three picks in the late 3rd round.  If the Niners trade into the 4th, then these receivers are in play.

Rice, the Niners have concerns with Danny Gray’s route tree, they may pass on drafting another SMU receiver. Reed, Scott, and Palmer all have speed but drop rate concerns. Reed has additional value as a punt returner with three TDs career. Washington excels at contested catches and YAC, but a Niner with 29-inch arms seems unlikely. Iosivas has size and athleticism as a 6-3/205 receiver with 4.43 speed, a 39-inch vertical, and good hands.

Tier 3: Potential 49er Targets in 5th
Late 4th-Early 5th Kayshon Boutte (LSU) 5-11/195
Early 5th Jalen Moreno-Cropper (Fresno St) 5-11/172
Early 5th Rakim Jarrett (Maryland) 6-0/192
5th Bryce Ford-Wheaton (West Virginia) 6-4/221
5th Xavier Hutchinson (Iowa St) 6-2/203
Late 5th -Early 6th Dontayvion Wicks (Virginia) 6-2/205

Boutte healthy is well above a 5th-round talent, but he relies on explosion to set up his game and is coming off an ankle injury. Cropper is a slot that makes defenders miss, 19 missed forced tackles, and nearly 1,100 yards, but he has to put on muscle at only 172 pounds. Jarrett 16.7% drop rate. Ford-Wheaton is 6-4 with a 4.38 40 but he doesn’t separate and that’s a must for Kyle Shanahan. Hutchinson caught 83 passes for nearly 1,000 yards from Brock Purdy in 2021 and had nearly 1,200 yards this year with 15 missed forced tackles. Wicks is in for a visit Wednesday but his drop rate of 23.1% is the worst in the class.

Tier 4: Potential 49er Targets in 6th and 7th

6th Charlie Jones (Purdue) 5-11/175 – Sharp routes, great hands, big production with 12 TDs and 1,361 yards. He has 4.4 speed but lacks explosion and needs to add muscle.

7th Ronnie Bell (Michigan) 6-1/191 – Niners have shown a lot of interest in him. Good quickness and separation on 5 TDs for 888 yards. Can struggle to get off the line, he only had 12 bench reps.

7th Demario Douglas (Liberty) 5-8/179 – Another active 49ers target, he has 4.44 speed with a 39.5 vertical. Douglas is a slot receiver with 7 TDs and 996 yards, elusive with 20 missed forced tackles. Punt returner with a TD in 2021.

7th Jared Wayne (Pittsburgh) 6-3/209 – Long with plus-33 arms and nearly an 80-inch wingspan, Wayne leads the class with a 41.5 vertical that contributes to a 62.5% contested catch rate. Productive with 5 TDs on 1,062 yards receiving.

Prediction:
If the Niners don’t trade into the 4th round, then their targets are in Tier 4 and they’ve shown a strong interest in Bell and Douglas.

If they do trade into the 4th, Jayden Reed is in for a visit this week and could step into Ray-Ray McDonald’s role as a receiver and returner if McDonald leaves in free agency next year. The 4th round receiver that I think will be a solid pro is Andrei Iosivas of Princeton: size, speed, athleticism, hands, and production.